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How did legal realism challenge the idea that written laws fully explain judicial decisions?
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Realism
Plato, marble portrait bust copied from an original of the 4th century bce; in the Capitoline Museums, Rome.
Legal realism challenged the traditional view that written laws fully explain judicial decisions by arguing that legal rules are often indeterminate and that judges are frequently influenced by nonlegal factors.12
Key aspects of this challenge include:
- Indeterminacy of Law: Realists, such as Karl Llewellyn, argued that authoritative sources like statutes and precedents do not dictate a unique outcome. Because there are often conflicting, equally legitimate canons of interpretation, judges have the latitude to choose between different readings of the law.1
- Judicial Discretion: Realists contended that judges are not strictly constrained by precedent. They can characterize past cases in ways that either distinguish them from or bind them to the present case, allowing for significant judicial flexibility.1
- Influence of Nonlegal Factors: Realists suspected that judicial decisions are driven by factors outside of formal law, such as a judgeās personal views on economic policy, fairness, or prevailing social and commercial norms.1
By highlighting these influences, legal realism shifted the focus toward understanding judicial behavior through the lens of social sciences, politics, and the actual background of the disputes.1